Ethiopian Investment Holdings has made its second joint venture with an electric mobility startup company to avail 100 battery swap stations in Addis Abeba within a year and expand to 300 stations over the next three years. The company, Dodai, plans to offer e-motor riders to quickly exchange depleted batteries for fully charged ones, lowering downtime and is expected to create 100,000 jobs for the youth. Brook Taye (PhD), CEO of EIH and Yuma Sasaki, founder and CEO of Dodai signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last week, at Hyatt Regency, Africa Avenue (Bole Road). According to Yuma, the focus is on building a battery swap network for electric motorbikes, intending to expand to include electric buses in the future. As the sovereign wealth fund and the government's investment arm, Brook noted the strategic alignment of the initiative with EIH’s plan to diversify into investments in alternative energy sources and scalable ventures, positioning portfolios like Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) for sustainable financial returns. “We’re committed to investing in initiatives that create jobs and contribute to a green economy,” he said. With about 33 state-owned enterprises under its wing, Brook said EIH works on portfolio optimisation, identifying gaps in the service delivery, and investment potential. He mentioned the 49pc joint venture with Toppan Gravity that aims to avail passport printing locally.

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